Speech refers to the production of sounds from the coordinated movements of the tongue, lips, jaw, and other speech organs. Most children make some speech errors when learning to produce sounds. When speech errors persist past a certain age a child is considered to have a speech disorder. Common speech errors that children make when their speech is delayed include sound omissions or deletions, sound substitutions and sound distortions. A child may omit a sound in a word. For example, a child may say “shee” instead of “sheep” or “pay” instead of “play”. Most often, children omit consonants in words. A child may also replace one sound with another sound. For example, he can say ‘gog’ instead of “dog” or “thun” instead of “sun”. A child may also produce sounds in an unusual way. For example, when he produces the sound “s” it may come out as slushy or noisy.
Speech errors make it difficult for other people to understand a child which could impact the child’s interaction with peers and their academic performance. Early intervention is important for children with speech disorders. If your child is not meeting speech developmental milestones, do not expect these defects to disappear on their own with age. Contact us for a free screening at 647-848-2988, by email at info@speechpartners.ca or fill out the online form. If speech disorder is suspected we will assess your child's speech difficulties, discuss with you the speech goals and provide therapy to work on the target sounds.
Services are available online, in the clinic, your home, school, or child care facility in the following locations.
There are no waiting lists.
Funding is available for eligible families through various private and government assistance programs. For more information visit the FUNDING page.
